Rhys Williams (Welsh actor)

Rhys Williams
Rhys Williams
	Williams in Bonanza (1960)
Born	31 December 1897; Clydach, Wales
Died	28 May 1969 (aged 71); Santa Monica, California, U.S.
Resting place	Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Hollywood Hills, Los Angeles, California
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1941–1969
Spouse	Elsie Dvorak
Children	2

Rhys Williams (31 December 1897 – 28 May 1969) was a Welsh character actor. He appeared in 78 films over a span of 30 years and later appeared on several American television series.

Career

He made his 1941 film debut in the role of Dai Bando in How Green Was My Valley, a drama about a working-class Welsh family that won the Academy Award for Best Picture.^[1] Williams was the only Welsh actor in the cast. He is believed to have been the original narrator of the film, and was originally hired by director John Ford as a dialogue coach.^[2]^[3]

During television's early years in America, Williams was in scores of series episodes, including the Adventures of Superman as a sadistic character in the 1952 episode "The Evil Three". Williams played art collector Rufus Varner in the 1958 Perry Mason episode, "The Case of the Purple Woman", and appeared on the religion anthology series, Crossroads. His other television work was on such programmes as The Rifleman, The DuPont Show with June Allyson, Peter Gunn, Riverboat and The Lloyd Bridges Show. His later appearances were on Temple Houston, 77 Sunset Strip, The Wild Wild West, 12 O'Clock High, Bonanza, The F.B.I., Mission: Impossible, Mannix, The Donna Reed Show, Here Come the Brides and The Andy Griffith Show.

Death

Williams died at the age of 71 in Santa Monica, California, on 28 May 1969. His remains are interred at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Los Angeles.^[4]

Filmography

Broadway theatre

Title	Dates	Role	Theatre	Notes	Ref(s)
Alice in Wonderland	24 Dec 1930 – 4 Jan 1931	Performer	Belmont Theatre		^[5]
King Richard II	5 Feb 1937 – Jun 1937	Second Herald Captain of a band of Welshmen Groom of the King's Stable	St. James Theatre		^[6]
King Richard II	15 Sep 1937 – 16 Oct 1937	Captain of a band of Welshmen Groom of the King's Stable	St. James Theatre		^[7]
Hamlet	12 Oct 1938 – Jan 1939	Player King Ambassador	St. James Theatre	Assistant stage manager	^[8]
Henry IV, Part 1	30 Jan 1939 – 1 Apr 1939	First Carrier Owen Glendower	St. James Theatre	Assistant stage manager	^[9]
Hamlet	4 Dec 1939 – 6 Jan 1940	Player King First Gravedigger	44th Street Theatre		^[10]
King Richard II	1 Apr 1940 – 27 Apr 1940	Captain of a band of Welshmen Lord Marshal Gardener	St. James Theatre		^[11]
The Corn Is Green	Nov 1940 – Sept 1941	John Goronwy Jones	Nederlander Theatre	Assistant to the Director	^[12]
The Corn Is Green	Sept 1941 – Jan 1942	John Goronwy Jones	Royale Theatre	Assistant to the Director	^[12]
The Morning Star	14 Sep 1942 – 3 Oct 1942	Brimbo Watkyn	Morosco Theatre		^[13]
Lifeline	30 Nov 1942 – 5 Dec 1942	Captain J. McGrath, Master	Belasco Theatre		^[14]
Harriet	3 Mar 1943 – 1 Apr 1944	Calvin Stowe	Henry Miller's Theatre		^[15]
Chicken Every Sunday	5 Apr 1944 – 20 May 1944	Jim Blachman	Henry Miller's Theatre		^[16]
Chicken Every Sunday	20 May 1944 – 6 Jan 1945	Jim Blachman	Plymouth Theatre		^[16]
Mr. Peebles and Mr. Hooker	10 Oct 1946 – 12 Oct 1946	Mr. Hooker	Music Box Theatre		^[17]
The Biggest Thief in Town	30 Mar 1949 – 9 Apr 1949	Sam Wilkins	Mansfield Theatre		^[18]

Film

Title	Year	Role	Notes	Ref(s)
How Green Was My Valley	1941	Dai Bando	20th Century Fox Also served as technical advisor Preserved at the UCLA Film & Television Archive	^[19]
Cairo	1942	Strange Man	MGM	^[20]
Gentleman Jim	1942	Harry Watson	Warner Bros.	^[21]
Random Harvest	1942	Sam	MGM	^[22]
Remember Pearl Harbor	1942	Andy L Anderson	Republic Pictures	^[23]
Underground Agent	1942	Henry Miller	Columbia Pictures	^[24]
Mrs. Miniver	1942	Horace	MGM	^[25]
This Above All	1942	Sergeant (uncredited)	20th Century Fox	^[26]
Eagle Squadron	1942	Sergeant Johns	Universal Pictures	^[27]
No Time for Love	1943	Clancy (uncredited)	Paramount Pictures	^[28]
Blood on the Sun	1945	Joseph Cassell	Cagney Productions, Inc.	^[29]
You Came Along	1945	Colonel Stubbs	Paramount Pictures	^[30]
The Bells of St. Mary's	1945	Dr. McKay	RKO Preserved at the UCLA Film & Television Archive	^[31]
Voice of the Whistler	1945	Ernie Sparrow	Columbia Pictures	^[32]
The Corn Is Green	1945	Mr. Jones	Warner Bros.	^[33]
The Spiral Staircase	1946	Mr. Oates	RKO	^[34]
The Strange Woman	1946	Deacon Adams	Mars Film Corp.	^[35]
So Goes My Love	1946	Magel	Skirball-Manning Productions	^[36]
Cross My Heart	1946	Prosecutor	Paramount Pictures	^[37]
The Trouble with Women	1947	Judge	Paramount Pictures	^[38]
The Imperfect Lady	1947	Inspector Carston	Paramount Pictures	^[39]
Moss Rose	1947	Deputy Inspector Evans	20th Century Fox	^[40]
The Farmer's Daughter	1947	Adolph Petree	RKO	^[41]
Easy Come, Easy Go	1947	Priest	Paramount Pictures	^[42]
If Winter Comes	1947	Mr. Bright	MGM	^[43]
Tenth Avenue Angel	1948	Blind Mac	MGM	^[44]
The Black Arrow	1948	Bennet Hatch	Columbia Pictures	^[45]
Hills of Home	1948	Mr. Milton	MGM	^[46]
Tokyo Joe	1949	Colonel Dahlgren	Santana Pictures, Inc.	^[47]
Fighting Man of the Plains	1948	Chandler Leach	20th Century Fox	^[48]
The Inspector General	1949	Inspector General	Warner Bros.	^[49]
Bad Boy	1949	Arnold Strawn	Allied Artists Pictures	^[50]
The Crooked Way	1949	Lieutenant Joe Williams	United Artists	^[51]
California Passage	1950	John Norris	Republic Pictures	^[52]
Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye	1950	Vic Mason	William Cagney Productions Preserved at the UCLA Film & Television Archive	^[53]
Devil's Doorway	1950	Scotty MacDougall	MGM	^[54]
Tyrant of the Sea	1950	Captain William Blake	Columbia Pictures	^[55]
The Showdown	1950	Chokecherry	Republic Pictures	^[56]
One Too Many	1950	Michael H. 'Sully' Sullivan	Filmed 1950, released 1951 Hallmark Productions	^[57]
Lightning Strikes Twice	1951	Father Paul	Warner Bros.	^[58]
The Law and the Lady	1951	Inspector McGraw	MGM	^[59]
The Son of Dr. Jekyll	1951	Michaels, the Butler	Columbia Pictures	^[60]
The Light Touch	1951	Mr. MacWade	MGM	^[61]
The Sword of Monte Cristo	1951	Mayor of Varonne	20th Century Fox	^[62]
Million Dollar Pursuit	1951	Waxman 'Waxey' Wilk	Republic Pictures	^[63]
Never Trust a Gambler	1951	Police Sergeant Quentin McCloy	Columbia Pictures	^[64]
Les Misérables	1952	Brevet	20th Century Fox	^[65]
The World in His Arms	1952	Eben Cleggett	Universal Pictures	^[66]
Carbine Williams	1952	Redwick Karson	MGM	^[67]
Mutiny	1952	Redlegs	King Brothers Productions	^[68]
Okinawa	1952	Robby Roberg	Columbia Pictures	^[69]
Plymouth Adventure	1952	Mr. Weston (uncredited)	MGM	^[70]
Meet Me at the Fair	1953	Pete McCoy	Universal Pictures	^[71]
Julius Caesar	1953	Lucilius	MGM	^[72]
Scandal at Scourie	1953	Bill Swazey	MGM	^[73]
Man in the Attic	1953	William Harley	20th Century Fox	^[74]
Bad for Each Other	1953	Dr. Leslie M. Scobee	Columbia Pictures	^[75]
Johnny Guitar	1954	Mr. Andrews	Republic Pictures	^[76]
The Black Shield of Falworth	1954	Diccon Bowman	Universal Pictures	^[77]
There's No Business Like Show Business	1954	Father Dineen	20th Century Fox	^[78]
The King's Thief	1955	Turnkey	MGM	^[79]
Many Rivers to Cross	1955	Lige Blake	MGM	^[80]
The Scarlet Coat	1955	Peter Andre	MGM	^[81]
The Kentuckian	1955	Constable	United Artists	^[82]
Battle Cry	1955	Enoch Rogers	Warner Bros.	^[83]
How to Be Very, Very Popular	1955	Cedric Flagg	20th Century Fox	^[84]
Mohawk	1956	Clem Jones	20th Century Fox	^[85]
The Desperados Are in Town	1956	Jud Collins	20th Century Fox	^[86]
The Boss	1956	Stanley Millard	United Artists	^[87]
The Fastest Gun Alive	1956	Brian Tibbs	MGM	^[88]
Nightmare	1956	Torrence	United Artists	^[89]
The Restless Breed	1957	Reverend Simmons	20th Century Fox	^[90]
Raintree County	1957	Ezra Gray	MGM	^[91]
Merry Andrew	1958	Constable	MGM	^[92]
Midnight Lace	1960	Victor Elliot	Universal Pictures	^[93]
The Sons of Katie Elder	1965	Charlie Striker	Paramount Pictures	^[94]
Our Man Flint	1966	Dr. Krupov	20th Century Fox	^[95]
Skullduggery	1970	Judge Draper	Universal Pictures	^[96]

Television

Program	Episode	Air date	Notes	Ref(s)
Four Star Playhouse	"Backstage"	6 November 1952	Stage manager
Studio One	"The Incredible Mr. Glencannon"	10 November 1952	Guest Star
Four Star Playhouse	"Man on the Train"	15 January 1953	Raikes
Adventures of Superman	The Evil Three	23 January 1953	Macy Taylor
Your Jeweler's Showcase	"Monkey's Paw"	7 April 1953		^[97]
Four Star Playhouse	"Night Ride"	7 May 1953	Bum
General Electric Theater	"Test of Love"	16 August 1953	Mr. Smith	^[98]
Four Star Playhouse	"The Wallet"	21 October 1954	Sidney	^[99]
The Danny Thomas Show	"Sonnets from the Lebanese"	8 November 1955		^[100]
The Best of the Post	"Marriage That Couldn't Succeed"	c.1956		^[101]
Crossroads	"Our First Christmas Tree"	1956		^[102]
The Loretta Young Show	"The Question"	2 September 1956	Professor Green	^[103]
General Electric Theater	"Mischief at Bandyleg"	3 November 1957	Matthew Magee	^[104]
Code 3	"Ashes Will Whisper"	1957
Alfred Hitchcock Presents	Season 2 Episode 32: "The Hands of Mr Ottermole"	1957	Mr. Summers	^[105]
Wagon Train	The Liam Fitzmorgan Story	28 October 1958	James Grady
The Donna Reed Show	"The Busy Body"	17 December 1958	Uncle Fred
Perry Mason	"The Case of the Purple Woman"	6 December 1958	Rufus Varner
The Rifleman	"Blood Brothers"	26 May 1959		^[106]
The Rifleman	"Bloodlines"	10 October 1959		^[106]
The Rifleman	"Letter of the Law"	1 December 1959		^[106]
Riverboat	"Strange Request"	13 December 1959	Josiah Cragg	^{[citation needed]}
The Rifleman	"A Case of Identity"	19 January 1960		^[106]
Bonanza	"Bitter Water"	9 April 1960	Andy McKaren	^{[citation needed]}
The Rifleman	"Sins of the Father"	19 April 1960		^[106]
The Rifleman	"The Prodigal"	26 April 1960		^[106]
Dr. Kate. Spitfire	TV pilot	1960		^[107]
Peter Gunn	"The Passenger"	3 October 1960
The DuPont Show with June Allyson	"Play Acting"	27 October 1960	Russell
The Real McCoys	"The Law and Mr. McCoy"	1 February 1962	Judge Reuter	^{[citation needed]}
The Bob Cummings Show	"Fasten Your Money Belt"	1 March 1962		^[108]
The Lloyd Bridges Show	"The Ramp"	8 May 1963
Temple Houston	"Billy Hart"	28 November 1963	Judge Curry	^{[citation needed]}
77 Sunset Strip	"Not Such a Simple Knot"	17 January 1964	Uncle Molnar	^{[citation needed]}
12 O'Clock High	"Interlude"	27 November 1964	Adam MacRae	^{[citation needed]}
The Wild Wild West	"The Night of the Druid's Blood"	25 March 1966	Dr. Tristam	^{[citation needed]}
The F. B. I.	"The Assassin"	9 October 1966	Dean Vincent Sutherland
Armstrong Circle Theatre	"Brigadoon"	15 October 1966		^[109]
Mission Impossible	"The Train"	8 March 1967	Prime Minister Ferenc Larya
The Andy Griffith Show	" Aunt Bee, the Juror"	23 October 1967	Judge Cranston	^[110]
Here Come the Brides	"A Kiss For Just So"	29 January 1969	Bishop Newkirk
Mannix	"Last Rites for Miss Emma"	8 March 1969	Doctor

References

External links

Rhys Williams at IMDb
Rhys Williams at the Internet Broadway Database
Rhys Williams at the TCM Movie Database
Rhys Williams at Find a Grave

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